We often get the question, "Why didn’t I know about QuickBase sooner?" Some of the reason I can explain, some I can’t. The part I can explain was summed up by David Becker of c|net fame: "I could write about you in every article, because you do that much." QuickBase doesn’t fit into traditional categories, and like it or not, as humans we do tend to pattern recognize and fit into existing categories in general.

What I don’t understand is that QuickBase is a revolutionary idea that it deserves a chance to make a case for a new category. (I can say this because I didn’t create the idea… I’m like you… I just fell for it!) So, about now you are thinking I need to get to the point of this post, which is… we are starting to get more press pick-up, which hopefully means less of "why didn’t I know sooner?"

ON JUNE 15, Bill Gates announced his retirement plan (see page 72), and the software world turned its eyes in unison to Ray Ozzie, his chosen successor. Ozzie had already signaled his vision for Microsoft in a November memo, which was widely summarized as "must beat Google." Mostly overlooked by the media, however, were Ozzie’s comments on business software, which might similarly be reduced to "must beat QuickBase."

QuickBase, a division of Intuit, otherwise known for its tax software, is the elder statesman of a growing crowd of companies hoping to overhaul the way office work is done.

But, while I love that introduction, the real proof is in what customers say, and they said:

Procter & Gamble, for instance, now uses QuickBase to track technology projects. Before, says P&G exec Irv Kieback, his team used "what we called the MOM, the mother of all spreadsheets. We’d have to have people sitting in a room, going through project by project. Now we just go to the web."

And what works for a FORTUNE 500 IT shop also works for Ramp Motors, a General Motors dealer in New York City. "It lets many people work out of the same songbook," says president John Rampone, who customized QuickBase to manage inventory, rebate programs, and even employee birthdays. "Everything we do touches QuickBase."

These examples give you a little flavor of "overhauling the way office work is done." It is a meaty goal, and exactly what we task ourselves with doing! We phrase it… "Working together made easy".

From the article:"People didn’t feel like they were in the loop. Also, salespeople were e-mailing PDFs of spreadsheets to each other. That led to the problem of dueling versions." Workflow has improved so much, [Anne] Walsh [of Genworth Financial Inc.] said, that "people grab me in the hallway and literally hug and tell me that QuickBase has changed their life."

"I don’t know Javascript or HTML. I’d say I’m about a B+ level user of Excel. But I can develop applications pretty quickly with QuickBase," said [Mark] Shnier [of G.E. Shnier Co.]. The company integrates data from its central ERP system into QuickBase. It also uses the software to centrally host important documents that are accessible by 200 employees.

From the article:QuickBase, a division of Intuit, has upgraded its hosted-model product to make it easier for sales reps and sales executives — two user groups that often have competing application requirements — to use the sales module.

New functionality in the application, called "Manage Your Sales Team," includes more advanced configuration, reporting and display tools. Another enhancement aimed specifically at sales reps is the addition of smart, or dynamic, forms that request information during the sales cycle only when necessary.